A Life Well "Spent"

We had a fair amount of discussion on a few blogs a while back about the idea of how we "spend" our lives. It started out, I think, with a post by Brent on his blog about our epitaph and what would be said about us after we are gone. This has made me think about a good friend of mine who has "spent" his life well and continues to do so. His name is Wayne Shuart.

I have had the privilege of knowing Wayne for more that 10 years. He has been a businessman in Phoenix most of his life. He is 69 years old. He is about the most genuine, loving, enthusiastic Christian I have ever known. He was recently featured in the Christian Network Team's national newsletter under the title: "Restructuring Work Days to 'Influence Influencers'" You see Wayne has spent most of his life sharing his faith in Christ and leading other men in discipleship(brand new believers and untrained older ones).

More often than not, over the years, when I have visited his office I have been introduced, not to a business associate working with him on a deal, but to a new believer that Wayne lead to Christ and is now leading in discipleship. Hardly a day goes by in which Wayne doesn't have some story of how he turned an ordinary human encounter into an opportunity to introduce someone to his Lord and Savior.

It has been my privilege to have Wayne as a personal mentor over the past year or so. He has challenged me to find new opportunities to convert my business time into ministry time, to convert conversation about things in business into discussions involving sharing my Christian testimony and offering the gift of salvation through faith in Christ. As a financial advisor, it has become quite easy for me to move from talking about someone's financial plan to asking them if they have taken care of their "eternal plan".

Wayne has recognized that, at 69, his time on earth is becoming shorter (although there are literally hundreds who pray that it is not so). He wants to be as effective as he can be for the kingdom in his remaining years. So, he has changed his focus to training those who would be willing to duplicate what he has been doing for many years. I am very thankful to be one of those he is investing his time in.

And the impact of his life has not been limited locally. Over the years, Wayne has participated in more than 10 short term international missions trips, including Russia, Poland, Mexico and India. In September 2004 he trained 2,500 key Indian leaders in personal evangelism and discipling in 16 conferences in nine cities.

Wayne has a plaque he displays in his office that sums up his attitude. It reads:

"Only one life will soon be past, Only what is done for Christ will last".

That is what Wayne wants on his grave stone. As Paul writes in Philippians 1:21, "for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain". If you get to meet Wayne in this life, your life will be richer for it. If not, you will have to find him in heaven and hang out with him for a few years or so. I know I will!

He's Off and RUNNING!
On Monday night Christian came to visit one last time. He hit the road Tuesday morning on the first step of what promises to be an amazing journey. He is headed back to New Hampshire for a few months to save up for a trip of several months to Tanzania.
Christian came into our lives about seven months ago. It has been my priveledge to get to know him and have some small part in encouraging him to pursue his dreams. It was hard to see him go, but incredibly exciting to watch him answer God's call.
We are proud of Christian for not taking the easy way out. He had an opportunity for a very good job here in Phoenix. He also had the option of returning to New Hampshire and settling into an ordinary life there. But God has something a bit differant in store for him for the next few months or more. And Christian decided that he was going to chose something that will give him a better chance of having a meaningful and abundant life.
I remember one time we were doing a little exercise with our group of young adults. We asked them to list out things that they thought were their passions in life. Christian wrote out a pretty long list, and then he said: "the only thing is that they don't really have anything in common." I looked at his list and began picking out a few of them. I said, "you're right, Christian, there is nothing there that could fit togther. I mean how could adventure, missions, travel, flying, and archetecture possibly have anything in common. He looked at me with a big smile and said: "Dennis, you got me again!"
I don't know what this decision will ultimately lead to in Christian's life. But I am confident of this: he will not be the same man this time next year that he is today. I also am confident that "God, who has begun a good work in him, will complete it."
Watch for more reports about Christian and how he is really "getting a life" in the months ahead!